potcobritainfandomcom-20200216-history
Joseph Grey, 1st Earl Grey
Joseph Archibald Grey, 1st Earl Grey, KG, KB, PC, FRS, MP (7 April 1715 - present) is a British statesman who is the current Lord Speaker of the British House of Lords in Parliament, and Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Grey has been an influential member of the government and a driving force behind British policy since the fall of the Caribbean in 1746. "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this I know, my lords, that where laws end, tyranny begins." - Lord Grey Early Life Joseph Grey was born on the 7th of April, 1715 to a Welsh Father by the name of Peter Grey, the Baron Grey and his wife, Lady Jane Grey (neé Wood) at his family's estate, known as Howick, in the county of Northumberland. His father was a minor lord who had served with distinction during the War of Spanish Succession, and had attained status as the 1st Baron Grey for his distinguished service to the Crown. His mother was a daughter of Horace Wood, son of a Scottish Bishop and a wealthy landowner. Grey, although not growing up as a member of one of the great families of England, nevertheless grew up around wealth attained from his maternal grandfather. Grey had three younger sibilings; Aura, Henry, and Mercedes, whom he often cared for. Regarding their well-being as his responsibility, a sense of leadership and duty grew inside him. Often, when Peter would be away in London serving in Parliament, Joseph would be left to serve as the head of the household, and it was expected that as the first born son, he would inherit the title of Baron. His father had made several land purchases, during Grey's youth, including Howick Hall, which eventually became the seat of the Grey Family. It was located just outside the town of Howick and thirty miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Joseph spent the majority of his youth adventuring in the nearby wilderness, and studying with his tutor, Walter Hodges, the later Vice Chancellor of Oxford. In 1725, he was sent to Eton College along with his brother, Henry. It is noted that Joseph disliked Eton, referring to his classmates as a mob of arrogant, clueless, rascals who could be swayed with very little reasoning. In 1734, Joseph entered as a gentleman commoner at Trinity College, Oxord. There is much evidence that during his college years, Joseph was an avid reader, and was usually well ahead of his classmates and peers. He stayed at Oxford until 1740, at which point he returned home and joined Parliament as MP for the County of Northumberland. He always regretted having not enlisted at the outbreak of the Paradoxian War in 1739, a regret he would carry for the rest of his life. Rise to prominence Entry to Parliament Upon his completion at Trinity College, Grey entered Parliament as MP for Northumberland. He took up an affiliation with the Whig sect of Parliament, and was brought under the wing of Lord Cobham and Sir Marcus Cannonshot, Leader of the House of Commons. Grey swiftly became one of the most prominent Whigs in Parliament, and was known for never missing a debate or meeting. His maiden speech to Parliament attacked the government under Sir Robert McRoberts in 1742 during a parliamentary debate against the Prime Minister's proposed "Treaty of Madrid", which would have limited British imperialism, and merged them with The Paradox. His fiery attacks against McRoberts' government were noted by opposition MP's, most notably the Duke of Newcastle. Eventually, McRoberts lost favour with the King, and a motion of no confidence was passed in Parliament that led to his fall in 1742. The King invited Lord James "Usman" Strider, the Earl of Wilmington, to form a Ministry following McRoberts' fall from power, which really divided power between The Earl of Harrington as Lord President of the Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, and The Duke of Newcastle as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Grey did not expect to be given a position in the new government, however, and continued to gain prominence within the House of Commons. Rise to Lordship Lord Newcastle has taken note of Grey by this time, and arranged for him to be made the Viscount Howick at his father's death, so that he could represent the government within the House of Lords instead of Commons. In 1743, Peter Grey died, and Joseph became the 1st Viscount Howick, inheriting all of his father's lands and titles as the eldest son. He joined the House of Lords soon afterwards, and became notable in the chamber than was known for its higher level of influence within the government. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1746. Fall of the West Indies The Viscount was finally elevated to a government position in 1746, when he became the Paymaster of the Forces, and responsible for arranging in the transfer of West Indies Forces back to Europe. It appears from Grey's correspondence, that he was successful in his task, and gained the confidence of Lord Newcastle as a result. He was able to successfuly evacuate the majority of the "British Co. Elites" Squadron from the Caribbean, and back to Europe, with minimal casualties. He did lose a regiment of soldiers under General James Warshot, however, and his political opponents quickly seized the oppurtunity to discredit him. His popularity with the people nevertheless went on unscathed. Government minister Special Envoy to Switzerland Newcastle dismissed Grey as Paymaster after only a month and a half, and appointed him as Special Envoy to the Swiss, a new position meant to assist the British Ambassador to Switzerland in light of the recent death of King William II, who was a noted supporter of the British. Grey travelled to Switzerland at once, and took office alongside the Ambassador, Sir Richard Venables. The new King, David I, was a noted imperialist, and known for his immature and brash antics. Grey immediately took a dislike to him, and the feeling was almost mutual. For seven months, Grey quarrelled with King David, and even began to secretly finance the opposition, which David's government had outlawed. In the spring of 1747, David invaded Prussia and instated himself as King. Grey was expelled from the new country, but continued to interfere with the King's schemes. Finally, in June 1747, David was overthrown by Jon Scotsman, and fled to Russia. Scotsman allowed Grey to return, and Grey assisted the son of King William, Alexander I, in regaining power in Switzerland. With the support of Britain through his alliance with Grey, Alexander successfuly restored the Kingdom of the Swiss, and made Joseph the Count of St. Gallen in thanks. Grey would later serve as the chief minister of Switzerland for the entirety of 1748, and continued to serve as Vice Advisor of the King for many years afterwards. The East India Company In September of 1747, a year after Grey became Special Envoy, Newcastle positioned Grey as the representative of the government, which owned the most shares, in the East India Company. As representative of the largest shareholder, Grey became the Chairman of the EITC Court of Directors, and thus the Governor of the Company. He immediately restored the East India House with his collegue Sir Richard Venables, and began a reform process of the Company. Grey was petitioned by the government to reform the entirety of the EITC private military in India, and Grey set upon completing this task. He was by now the most outspoken member of the House of Lords, and one of the most noted officials in the government. He had effectively become the image of a new generation of statesmen, and was popular throughout the commons for his anti-corruption platform. After serving as Chairman of the EITC Directors for two months, he was appointed by the King on the advice of Lord Newcastle as Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, and the de facto leader of Parliament in general. Speakership Upon Grey's appointment as Lord Speaker, he completely reformed the parliamentary process. For the first time, parliamentary sovereignty was established in Britain. Grey was applauded for his work in this area, and effectively became the most powerful official in the government, after Newcastle. He continued to work as the EITC Chairman, however he had by now allotted most of the responsibilities and duties of the office to the remaining Directors of the Court. He was now totally focused on reforming Parliament and ensuring that democracy would remain in Britain. Among the reforms was the decision to swap monthly parliamentary sessions for new 90 day sessions twice a year. Grey opened the Winter Session of 1747 to a complete success, and much praise from the British public, leading to his system gaining the confidence of the nation as a whole. Grey would continue to serve as Lord Speaker for the next four years, the longest serving Speaker of either House. 1748 The next year would throw Lord Grey into the spotlight, and would make him a household name throughout most of Europe. In March of 1748, an assassin only known as "Piri Reis", working for the terrorist organization, the Sarunu, would trigger an assassination attempt on Lord Newcastle when he shoots him in the chest while disguised as a Royal guard. Newcastle is immediately taken from the scene, and Grey is appointed Acting Prime Minister. In his first act as acting head of government, Grey orders a raid in Kiev to capture the mastermind of the plot, Ronald Cobens. After special forces seize the terrorist, he cuts a deal with Grey to allow his insurgent troops to be caught by the British, while he walks free. Grey arranged the deal, and thereafter the entire Sarunu insurgent militia was captured in one sweep. Soon after, Newcastle recovered from his injuries, and retained his position as Prime Minister. From here on out, Grey was officially the most powerful man in Britain behind Newcastle, and he had very big plans. Newcastle-Grey Ministry The first Newcastle Ministry was dissolved in 1749, after it could no longer hold on to a majority in Parliament. Grey, now the most influential member of Parliament as a whole, was sought out by Newcastle and together they formed a coalition by creating the Second Newcastle Ministry, commonly referred to as the Newcastle-Grey Ministry. In this system, Lord Newcastle would continue to serve as Prime Minister, while Lord Grey would become Secretary of State for the Southern Department (Foreign Secretary). Following Grey's appointment as Southern Secretary, he began to coordinate with Lord Newcastle on many aspects of the government, and became a leading member of the cabinet. Newcastle decided to bring in a new generation of politicians into the fold, and appointed several young men to his cabinet besides Grey, including his nephew the Earl of Lincoln, and the Earl of Portsmouth. Joseph's sister, Mercedes, would soon wed The Earl of Portsmouth, Lord Nathaniel Huntington, which would create a very important a political alliance between the Grey family and the Huntington family. As Southern Secretary, Grey would essentially become responsible for all foreign affairs, while internal affairs were largely left to the Northern Secretary at the time, Lord Huntington. Grey would spend the majority of the year travelling to and from various European states, and serving as an intermediary on several debates. He continued to hold the post of Ambassador to Switzerland while serving as Southern Secretary, and was known to make almost monthly visits to the Kingdom. As Southern Secretary he attended the Congress of Vienna as a senior representative of Britain, and was one of the 17 signatories to the Vienna Accords. He would go on to bring the issue before Parliament two weeks later. June Crisis In June of 1750, an international incident occurred following the leaking of Swiss top secret intelligence by Spanish officials, which narrowly avoided escalating into full scale war. Following the success of British mediators, the tension between the Swiss and Danish was ended. However, this was occurring at a time when Parliament was reviewing terms of a new treaty that Newcastle's government was negotiating with the Spanish Syndicate, Spain's new government under Premier Leonardo. Due to these circumstances, and evidence that indicated the ill-will of the Spanish government, Grey switched his vote to oppose and went on to champion the opposition movement against the treaty. When the Houses of Parliament voted for the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to open an inquiry into the June Crisis, Grey was appointed as Vice-chair. Following the JCPC's investigation of the Spanish Syndicate, it was ruled that an alliance between Spain and Britain would not have been of benefit. The British government effectively cut ties with Spain, although three weeks later, Lord Newcastle and Lord Grey were dispatched to Barcelona to speak with Premier Leonardo and his Vice-Premier, however these talks ended up fruitless. Eventually, King Ferdinand Clemente would seize power back and exile Leonardo Cortes and Baron Crossland from Spain. The Syndicate moved its government to Seville, however without the support of the military and their assets taken, they were forced to flee the nation and set up a government-in-exile in Morrocco, however this was very poorly underfunded and eventually faded away. Following the collapse of the Syndicate and the general peace that settled over Europe, Parliament was called into recess, and Grey returned to Howick for a month and a half to recuperate and take his mind off the politics. Upon his return in mid-September, he became in deep opposition to the Earl of Lincoln's reformation plans for the Privy Council, although he would eventually work out a suitable middle ground. Dissolving the EITC By mid-October 1750, the East India Company had never realised any significant profit from its monopoly, after being reinstated by the East India Act of 1750. Company stock rose greatly in value as it expanded its operations dealing in government debt, peaking in early September before collapsing to little above its original flotation price. The inept leadership of Sir William Brawlmartin and his inability to prevent insider trading in addition to the previous controversy accusing the East India Act authors of using Parliamentary malpractice through bribery of Colonel Jackson S. Stormrage and his influence in Parliament forced his resignation by early October, making Sir Jason Benedict-Morgan, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chairman of the Court and thus Lord Governor of the Company. Benedict-Morgan's attempts to revitalize the Company were overshadowed by Brawlmartin's failures, and, close to default, the Court of Directors was forced to turn to HM Treasury to stimulate the Company shares once more and trade debt for equity. Lord Grey, the Third Lord of the Treasury, was dispatched to the East India House, and, upon reviewing the books, was abhorred by the revelation of early insider trading that served to inflate the share prices prior to the East India Act going into affect, shares in the company were "sold" to politicians at the current market price; however, rather than paying for the shares, these recipients simply held on to what shares they had been offered, with the option of selling them back to the company when and as they chose, receiving as "profit" the increase in market price. Fearing indictment by the Treasury, Benedict-Morgan resigned as Chairman, reappointing Brawlmartin at the helm, who sought to isolate the representatives of the Treasury by holding off-the-record meetings with his suporters within the Court of Directors. This infuriated the Prime Minister, who personally attended a meeting of the Court, where he admonished Brawlmartin and challenged his leadership, promising to redact the East India Act if the Company's failures persisted. The renegade members of the Court then turned to disgraced Lord, the Earl of Harrington, who had been previously found guilty of treason after almost single-handedly initiating a war with Spain. Harrington was promised leadership of the East India Company once they would be able to relocate to another state to do business, attempting first to contact Spain, then Switzerland. Refused by both states, the Court made plans to illegally short government-held stocks, to replenish their own personal treasury, at the cost of the nation. When discovered, all members of the Court were arrested on the charge of Conspiracy against the Crown, and the government introduced legislation within the House to formally repeal the East India Act, dissolving the Court of Directors and placing the Company assets in trust of the Lords of the Treasury. Sir William Brawlmartin, Lord Samuel Harrington, Mr. James Truesilver, and Mr. Simon Pratton were brought to court for their crimes, and Brawlmartin and Harrington were found guilty of all crimes and sentenced to six months of imprisonment each, and more than £650,000 each in fines. March Revolt Harrington's attempts to undermine the British government did not end here, however. Following his sentancing following the 1st of November Plot, he went underground for several months, meanwhile keeping in contact with Sir Pulp Daggerlord, the son of Paradoxian War hero Billy Hullbatten, and great nephew to Prime Minister Newcastle, who had recently been appointed Lieutenant General of the East India Regimental Corps, commonly known as the Black Guard or Black Mercenaries. Daggerlord was successful in centralizing the BM, assuming command over the entirety of the EITC's private military forces after a few months. By late February, his forces had reached peak performance, and were seen as among the finest of the entire British Military. Questions about his ultimate loyalty were present, though nobody suspected he would rebel. After gaining more and more prominence on the international stage, his aspirations began to worry some within HM Government. The day after maxing, control over the BM Corps was handed over the Lord Nathaniel Scurvyskull, a former East India Company Director and a collegue of the Earl of Harrington. The BM attempted to use this coup to overthrow the British government, and it is assumed, to create a nationalist government centered around the East India Company, as Britain had previously been before the office of the Prime Minister & Cabinet and Parliamentary sovereignity had been established. The government managed to seize the BM from the control of Scurvyskull within 72 hours, with the Justice Department under Lord Mallace immediately declared the three chief collaborators enemies of state by the crime of High Treason, thereby exiling them from the Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland. Daggerlord was held under arrest and allowed to appeal his case, for many believed that he had been innocent and that the Revolt was the result of a coup led by Harrington. Investigations into the matter revealed that Daggerlord had been in contact with an assortment of different characters ranging from exiled criminals like former Swiss Minister of State Sir Gustav Dreadre to government officials within the upper tiers of the CRP Nations, and had plotted against HM Government numerous times. Most interestingly was his communication and numerous liasons with Crown Prince of Spain, Prince Ezequiel Clemente. Daggerlord and the Prince were found to have formed a conspiracy against the government several weeks prior to the Revolt, wherein the British Government would be overthrown following the retirement of Lord Newcastle, inserting James Goldtimbers, 9th Earl of Lincoln as a non-executive Prime Minister, to oversee the British government, while Daggerlord would be de facto Head of Government so that he and Prince Ezequiel could "rule" the CRP community. Following these revelations, the Prime Minister ordered it to be shared among the Cabinets of each nation, resulting in both the Kingdom of the Swiss and the Dutch Republic severing all ties with the Spanish. Britain suspended its alliance with Spain and offered King Ferdinand 48 hours to make a decision on the matter. The next day, Prince Ezequiel was exiled from Spain for conspiracy against the State and the Nations of CRP. This caused a dramatic shakeup in the Spanish government, with the King promising a second "Fernando Reforma" within the next two weeks. Grey travelled to Madrid where he would serve as the King's chief advisor on restructuring the Spanish government, promising a new and more efficient model. Southern Secretary Grey, as de facto First Secretary, was charged with streamlining several new reforms, that the government realised in the wake of the East India Treason Plot. Alongside the numerous East India reforms, Grey worked with Newcastle and Huntington to create a standardized and comprehensive test that evaluates all candidates on their appropriate responses to certain situations. for all aspiring to work within HM Government. He followed this by working with Huntington and the newly appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Maxamillion Phillip Beckett on a complete Naval overhaul, with the intention of recreating the cohesiveness and efficiency that the Royal Navy had enjoyed under the command of legendary Secretary at War, Nathaniel Joseph Garland. In terms of foreign policy, Grey effectively dominated British foreign policy from December 1750, and almost singlehandedly designed it. He was the primary architect of the Treaty of Lisbon (1750), which he orchestrated upon receiving from his informants across Europe hints of an attempt to possibly oust Queen Julie Grace Garate. Grey would further write up the Treaty of Reykjavik (1751), formally recognizing Abaddon I of Norway as the one true Queen of Denmark-Norway. He arranged for the creation of the Dutch Republic with Chancellor Jason Benedict Morgan, evaluating the legal parameters quietly, from behind the scenes. Later, as the Dutch pushed the fragile Ottoman Empire into collapse, Newcastle called together the Summit of 1751, to formally partition the Ottoman provinces. Grey quickly partitioned the territories with Newcastle, almost overnight, and presented his proposal for voting upon by the nations of the world. At the protest of the Spanish delegation, Poland's voting rights at this summit were suspended, and each other nation retained the right to one vote. The motion, the Treaty of Istanbul (1751) passed within two days by a tally of 6-1, with only the Kingdom of Spain voting in opposition. Following the severance of ties with Spain, the Swiss government announced its intentions to annex the Kingdom of France, which had been virtually stateless since its government was dissolved in 1741 during the Paradoxian War. While new generation politicans like Grey, Huntington, and Beckett supported these measures and saw the possibility of a prosperous France in the near future, Old Guard members like Prime Minister Newcastle were staunchly against this, viewing France as property of Britain for its defense of it during the Paradoxian War, and viewing an annexation of France as similar to Phillip V's expansionist policies in the 1720s and 30s. With support tilted towards the Swiss stance, Newcastle ignored the counsel of his government and authorized the extremely controversial Treaty of Versailles (1751), one of his poorest points in his entire career, making France a protected state of Britain and thus administered directly by the British government, as Portugal is. The move completely destroyed all relations between Britain and the Swiss, now the second most powerful state in Europe, and also further damaged relations between Britain and the Dutch Republic, whose government was dominated by its Foreign Minister, who held a very close relationship with the Swiss Prime Minister. Following the events of the beginning of March, King Alexander, a long-time staunch pro-Britain ruler, quietly recused himself from political decision making and handed executive authority over to his nephew, Crown Prince Ryan Kroshbon, the Prime Minister of Switzerland. The Prince is seen as young and dynamic, though also viewed as reckless in some cases, and had previously enjoyed a very close working relationship with both Grey and Huntington, which soured following the break-down in diplomatic ties with Prince Ryan blaming the two diplomats for not being able to convince Newcastle to see reason. MORE TO BE ADDED SOON Family and personal life Grey was the eldest son of his parents, and as such the heir to his father's estate. He had two sisters, Aura (b. 1718) and Mercedes (b. 1728) and one brother, Henry (b. 1720). As Grey by his mid-thirties had no children of his own, he designated Henry as his successor as the Earl Grey. His attempts to force Henry to uphold his duties were in vain, and after Henry's disappearance at sea in January 1751, Joseph chose his favourite sibiling, Mercedes, as his heir, in order to unite the Grey family and the Huntington family as one. As such, she adopted the surname "Grey-Huntington", as did her children by the Earl of Portsmouth, Grey's close ally and counterpart within HM Cabinet. Grey's other sister, Aura, would later become engaged to Andoni Calico Beckett, the cousin of First Sea Lord Maxamillion Phillip Beckett, thus uniting the Grey's and Beckett's in matrimony as well. Styles of address *Mr Joseph Grey (1715 - 1740) *The Honourable Joseph Grey, MP (1740 - 1743) *The Right Honourable Viscount Howick, KB, MP (1743 - 1746) *The Right Honourable Viscount Howick, KB, FRS, MP (1746 - 1748) *The Right Honourable Earl Grey, KG, KB, PC, FRS, MP (1748 - present) Category:MP Category:Grey family